. . . a funny old life with multiple sclerosis

Hair-Brained

I quote, from a DWP representative who visited me for an hour, with me being the last one on her list of six for that day:

‘she … raised both arms up to her head running her fingers through her hair.’

That is an actual ‘observation’ of what it is like to live with MS.

Funnily enough, all her comments create an image of a meeting I don’t actually recall taking part in. Apparently I was ‘dressed appropriately for the climate and was well-kempt.’

If you consider a worn and old t-shirt and jogging bottoms (minus a bra) to be well-kempt, I would seriously worry. Likewise my hair, greasy and lank, which I hide under a woolly hat most days.

My ‘memory is good’.

Yeah, I wish.

I ‘handled my ID well’ – which is strange as my mother did that for me.

My ‘speech was normal and I showed no signs of distress’. So she obviously forgot when I asked her to give me a break and stop asking me question after question after question, with the sole aim of catching me out.

Apparently I ‘visit family often’. My mother lives two streets away, my sister a few miles. I haven’t seen my sister in months and my mother visits me by taxi.

I could go on but I won’t bore you with the endless lies.

One last thing, I was ‘chatty and engaged’, with ‘full eye contact’. Which is strange as she (the Assessor) never looked directly at me once. She was so disengaged she might as well have spoken to my back wall.

I am entering the sixth month of DLA to PIP assessment.

Six months.

And according to this person, I should go through this again every three years.

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8 thoughts on “Hair-Brained”

Sounds similar to my ESA assessment. So fictional that you question your own sanity. My charming assessor is apparently no longer employed by whatever agency breeds these callous automatons. Maybe someone confronted her in a dark alley and asked her how she sleeps at night. It is sick. All of it. Don’t get me started. Big hugs x

I don’t think you’re being negative at all, sadly it’s the reality and it’s horrifying.
The low appeal rate is deliberate, you’re right. I read that even applying for a mandatory reconsideration is fraught with obstacles, making it harder to take that first step towards appeal.
I await my final decision with bated breath … x

Oh dear, I’ve just started the DLA to PIP assessment. After hearing about yours and many other people’s experiences I’m dreading the assessor coming round 😥
I don’t understand why they don’t just speak to your neurologist? Surely that would save a lot of time, stress and money all round?
Fingers crossed you do actually get awarded the correct level.
Sharon x

Thank you!
It’s strange, as even in their own guidance for PIP assessors, there is a paragraph about not needing to assess people with neurological illnesses such as Parkinson’s and MS, yet still they put us through this.
I hope your assessment goes better than mine – don’t forget, there’s some good stories out there too 🙂 X